Cheaters Never Prosper

It was mentioned during the radio broadcast of Maryland's 34-24 win over then #10 Rutgers that before the snap, Rutgers defensive linemen would be signaling to their linebackers which side the Terps would be running the ball to. Pretty good scouting for a non-conference opponent huh?

Well our friends over at Truth About Dook know why. It was because Dook gave Rutgers the Maryland-Wake Forest game tape.

As a matter of fact in his postgame presser, Rutgers Head Coach Greg Schiano even said about Maryland backup quarterback Chris Turner:

I wish I would have seen this guy before today, but I guess if you're going to lose your quarterback you are better off losing him on a game when you are running the ball effectively. But to give Turner credit, he got hit a few times but still hung in there. He did an impressive job.

Now we know why...

It turns out that Rutgers had called Georgia Tech and Wake Forest before finding a willing accomplice in Dook. Furthermore, Schiano wasn't calling in a favor either and the video guy at Dook who turned over the tape used to work with Maryland Head Coach Ralph Friedgen at Maryland and Georgia Tech (want to bet he never works for Fridge again?).

The other crying shame about Saturday's game was the admission from the ACC that the hit that took out Maryland's starting quarterback Jordan Steffy was illegal and should have been flagged. Of course, the ACC officiating crew (the visiting team provides the on-field officials in non-conference games) didn't flag the play. Turner also took a head shot on his touchdown pass that was wiped out by a bogus penalty (offensive linemen are allowed to be three yards beyond the line of scrimmage on a passing play if they got there through contact with a defender initiated behind the line of scrimmage). Maryland also ended up submitting a whopping 19 plays to the ACC from the Maryland-Wake Forest game.

However, all of this just goes to show you that even though Rutgers was well prepared for the Terps, they still couldn't beat them. What in the world Rutgers was doing ranked #10 is beyond me because if Rutgers really was the 10th best team in the country, then Maryland has to be in the Top 5. How else could you explain a 10 point loss at home when you are coming off a bye week and have excellent preparation in front of the second largest crowd in your stadium's history?

Navy Ducking Maryland?

At least week's MGN kickoff party, Maryland Athletic Director Debbie Yow bluntly said that Navy had 8 weeks to agree to a rematch of the 2005 Maryland-Navy game in Bhawlmuher in 2010 or the offer would be off the table. Yow said that Maryland was offering Navy the exact same deal, a 50-50 split of tickets and revenue from the game and two years ago, Ralph Friedgen mentioned that it had the potential to be an extra bowl game for both football programs with the added bonus that Maryland wouldn't have to share any of the payout with the ACC (all ACC Bowl payouts are evenly distributed among the ACC schools).

Today we find out why Navy is dragging their feet and does anybody really feel sorry for these guys?

First of all, let's look at this from Maryland's perspective, you have a choice between going to Charlotte, NC in December or Orlando, FL in December, where would you want to go? You have a choice between a game with a payout of $750K per team or a payout or $2.250 million per team. (while all ACC schools share the bowl payouts, the larger the bowl payout, the larger budget a team has for traveling to the game)

Personally, I don't see what Navy's problem is and I wouldn't blame them for a second if they made the same decisions that Maryland did which includes going where the players wanted to go. If Navy honestly thinks the Terps snubbed them last year, why haven't they signed the deal to play in Bhawlmuher in two years and lock in a game on the schedule that the Terps can't back out of?

But Navy's AD want to play the victim card here and as a result, they aren't going to get a game with Maryland anytime soon. Too bad that a potential win-win situation here gets passed up.

Holding College Athletes to a Higher Standard

A reader took me to task for my comments about the Dook Lacrosse team this past Sunday and as luck would have it, Sunday was also the day finally ran their "Maryland Athletes Behaving Badly" article that had the Maryland Athletic Department running a Preemptive strike a couple of weeks ago now.

Reading the Bhawlmuher Sun article, it isn't as one-sided and negative as the rumor mill reported heading into the preemptive strike. But because they still slant things in a negative way; I do want to address this article and also clarify my comments from Sunday which were written in haste at the end of a very long Sunday.

In general I am one of those who believe that College Athletes should be held to a higher standard than the general college student population. College Athletes represent their institution everytime they compete because they are wearing the school's name across their chest. Rightly or wrongly, that makes them as much a representative of the institution as the coach or any school Administrator including the President.

Additionally, many College Athletes are being given a free education in exchange for putting their athletic ability to use for the institution that they are attending. That is not a cheap proposition in spite of some people who think they should also draw a salary in addition to free room, board, books, and tuition.

David Carter of the University of Southern California Sports Business Institute has a $$$$$ quote that drives this home:

We don't hear about the chemistry major, but we certainly hear about the DUI of the starting quarterback.

Of course there are other reasons that College Athletes are held to a higher standard, the TV exposure and the $$$$$ wagered on college athletics legally and otherwise are front and center. I also think it is a legitimate debate to whether or not College Athletes should be held to a higher standard. They are after all college students and college students are world famous for doing stupid things. You could argue that doing stupid things is part and parcel of the college experience and I wouldn't disagree with you. I just believe that College Athletes have to forgo some of that stupidity as a part of the implied or explicit contract they are attending college under.

While the infamous Dook three did NOT rape the woman they were accused of raping or any other woman that night. It does not whitewash the actions of their teammates who misbehaved. The "college boys will be college boys" excuse does not fly with me for the reasons I just stated as does the "two wrongs don't make a right" which applies all over the place. NOBODY from the players, to the Dook faculty, to the "unbiased" media, to the race hustlers, to the accusers, to the District Attorney's office conducted themselves properly in that situation including the players who built a reputation and put themselves into a situation that made the allegations believable at first blush. While wild parties, underage drinking, racist comments, and violent e-mails are nowhere near equal to rape, they aren't the actions of fine upstanding gentlemen either.

Now for the Sun article... I would be very interested to see what the original version of the article contained. Maryland launched their preemptive strike just over two weeks before this article appeared and what was published is heavy on steroid testing, or complete lack thereof. It is mentioned that Maryland spends the extra $$$$$ on testing for steroids which is included in a separate test. While I disagree with the contention of the State Penn expert that steroid violations should always be treated with harsh punishment, I do think that Maryland is wrong not to have a standard that is in-line with the NCAA. A Maryland athlete who tests positive for the first time is subject to further testing in addition to the counseling and education. The NCAA mandates a one-year suspension for a first-time positive steroid test. Maryland's academic standards for freshman admissions are tougher than the NCAA and/or ACC requirements and Maryland has lost high-profile athletes to other schools because of this. I would like to see all of Maryland's policies tougher than what the NCAA and/or ACC mandates.

I also question the article's suspicion of the drug testing policy that Maryland has. I think it is a good thing that Athletic Department had no hand in developing the drug policy they follow. I think a further level of disassociation in allowing the University to conduct the tests would be an even better idea. What the article also fails to tell you is that the general student population is not subject to random drug testing. The drug policy is almost exclusively conducted on the athletes at Maryland. But again, this does not bother me because I think that College Athletes should be held to a higher standard.

Pre-emptive Strike

More from the land of press releases in my mailbox...

May 11, 2007

Dear Friend of Maryland Athletics,

One of the types of interactions that occur routinely in intercollegiate athletics is communication with various media outlets, both print and electronic. The majority of those interactions result in balanced and fair reporting of competitive, academic and civic-related activities of our student-athletes.

Today, I write to share with you the intentions of the Baltimore Sun to print an article about the University of Maryland student-athlete population and their violations of the “Student Code of Conduct” and the “Student-Athlete Code of Conduct” that have occurred between 2004 and 2006.

Our concern is that the report of such activities be provided in the proper context. Since we ultimately have no control over which facts will be selectively presented or the fairness with which they will be presented, it seemed prudent to share some information with you ahead of time.


Our Culture

One of the goals of our Athletics Department is to support a culture for student-athletes and staff whereby we pursue victory with honor. In order to achieve this goal, we vigorously promote character development, leadership qualities, sportsmanship and academic excellence in our student-athletes, as well as competitive excellence. Toward that end, our student-athletes are expected to engage in appropriate behaviors and to be disciplined remedially, when appropriate. Attached, for your information, is a document that reflects this philosophy. It was also provided to the Baltimore Sun writers and is discussed often in our monthly coaches meetings.

No system or policy can guarantee that there will be no isolated instances of inappropriate choices by student-athletes. As such, the University has in place a specific process for reporting and managing any alleged violations of the “Student-Athlete Code of Conduct” and the “Student Code of Conduct” to insure that any inappropriate behaviors are addressed with integrity. This plenary process is implemented in concert with the University’s Office of Student Conduct, the University Legal Office and is shared with the Faculty Athletics Representative, the President’s Office, the Vice President for Student Affairs and the head of the University Health Center, when appropriate. Our consistent goal is to be interdictive, educational and remedial in our response to inappropriate behaviors.


The Request

Violations of such campus policies and corresponding disciplinary actions are maintained in individual student-athlete files, which are protected by law. However, we are expected to share that information with a few individuals who provide campus oversight to the Athletics Department. This checks and balances system has been in place for many years. One of the campus individuals serving in this role requested a list of such violations/discipline for review last Fall (subsequent to a highly publicized issue on another college campus).

During this brief period of time, the individual was interviewed by a Baltimore Sun sports reporter, who asked whether or not such information was shared on campus, to which he innocently replied that it was and that he had seen the list of violations/disciplines quite recently.

Within 48 hours of that conversation, the campus received a formal request for the list from the Baltimore Sun. The campus legal office ultimately provided it, with appropriate redactions to protect the identity of the student-athletes.

This request occurred in September 2006. Over the next eight months, we graciously agreed to multiple interviews as requested by the Sun, to speak with coaches, Athletic Council members and athletics administrators. Later, we discovered that a Sun reporter had tracked down two student-athletes to interview, without going through the Media Relations office of the Athletics department.

The results detailed below reflect the high and consistent standards to which we hold our student-athletes, the consistent levels of appropriate discipline we administer when those standards are not met, and, most importantly, the overall concern all of us on campus have for the well-being and personal development of our student-athletes.


Results

1. Drug Testing

The article will include the number of positive drug tests from 2004 through 2006 for student-athletes.

· Out of 1,833 tests conducted by our University Health Center for student-athletes, 39 tested positive (29 first positives; 8 seconds; 2 thirds). As our general student population is not subjected to drug tests, there is no data for comparison. Although we believe that the 2.1% rate of positive tests is not indicative of excessive use among our student-athletes, we take this very seriously and have made the following improvements to the drug testing policy for the benefit of our student-athletes’ health and well-being.

· We have dramatically increased the number of tests administered (113% increase); decreased notification times, implemented 100% direct observation of testing and made improvements in identifying masking agents from 2005 to 2006.

· Even with more stringent testing procedures in place, the rate of positive tests decreased to 1.5% in 2006.

· Our student-athletes across all 27 varsity sports are also randomly tested for steroid use. Additional testing is in place for sports that have nationally reported an increase for steroid use – football, wrestling, baseball, track and field, and men’s lacrosse. Also, all student-athletes are subject to random drug tests conducted by the NCAA, including the screening of steroids. From 2004-06, we have had only one case of a positive steroid test. That individual never participated in any collegiate competition for Maryland.

· These results make it clear that the campus drug testing policy is effective in limiting the use of drugs among our student-athletes.


2. Misconduct

For the period of 2004-06, our 647 student-athletes comprised about 2.8% of Maryland’s total undergraduate student population.
During this same time period, the Maryland student-athlete rate of misconduct was less than that of the general student population rate. This includes Academic Misconduct, Non-Academic Misconduct and Residence Hall Incidents, as listed below.
Total # of Academic Misconduct Cases 594
Student-athlete Cases 11
% of Total for Student-athletes 1.8%

Total # of Non-Academic Misconduct Cases 1027
Student-athlete Cases 12
% of Total for Student-athletes 1.1%

Total # of Residence Hall Incidents 2663
Student-athlete Cases 12
% of Total for Student-athletes 0.4%

The information above represents a true “apples-to-apples” comparison. Maryland Athletics also tracks violations of team rules, like a fight in a locker room, which violate team rules established by our coaches. That type of incident is not a violation of the “Student Code of Conduct.”
Per the “Student-Athlete Code of Conduct,” a student-athlete is required to immediately (within 24 hours) notify his or her head coach when he or she has participated in any activity that violates the “Student-Athlete Code of Conduct.” Failure to do so can result in more serious discipline.


Summary

It is important to note that an overwhelming majority of our student-athletes have never been cited for misconduct cases or residence hall incidents. There are other positive indicators regarding the conduct of our student-athletes:

· Over the same three-year period, the total campus-wide number of misconduct cases and residence hall incidents was 4,284. Maryland student-athletes comprised just 0.8% of these infractions, despite representing 2.8% of the total student population.

· The University’s long-standing health education-first drug policy is administered independently by the University Health Center and features mandatory counseling for all first positives. In addition to continued counseling, a second positive drug test results in a mandatory two-week suspension from all team-related activities. A third positive results in an indefinite suspension and potential expulsion from the University.

· As part of our culture of accountability, Maryland Athletics regularly shares all such information with appropriate individuals, including the Faculty Athletics Representative, the President’s Office and the University Legal Office.

Over the same three-year period of 2004-06, many of our student-athletes have been outstanding examples of good behavior and model citizenship:

· For the first time ever, Maryland has the greatest number of ACC Honor Roll selections of any public institution in our conference;

· Our recent graduation rate of 76% is the highest of any public institution in the Atlantic Coast Conference;

· Josh Wilson (Football) was recently awarded the ACC’s James E. Tatum Award, given annually to the top senior student-athlete in the conference in any sport;

· Over the past three years, Maryland student-athletes have served over 140,000 hours of voluntary community service, including projects with the Capital Area Food Bank, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the American Cancer Society and various local elementary schools.

· The student-athletes in Field Hockey and Competitive Cheer celebrated National Championships in 2006 – for a total of six championships in the past two years alone;

· Almost 61% of our student-athletes carry a grade point average over 3.0.

Maryland Athletics is focused on reinforcing a culture of integrity in all competitive, academic and civic areas, with our coaches and staff members, as well as our terrific student-athletes.

Hopefully, the Sun will provide a fair and balanced characterization of our student-athletes, though in the interview process, some of the reporters have focused a great deal on any possible negative issues, while showing minimal interest in the many strengths of our student-athletes. If these facts are not cogently and fairly presented, it would seem reasonable to share those concerns with the Sun’s managing editor. Rarely do we respond as we are doing now by sending you this information in advance of the printing of the article. But, we are genuinely concerned about the possible mischaracterization of our student-athletes as a whole. They are simply terrific people, by and large. What they deserve are articles about their many academic and community service achievements, all of which make us very proud indeed.

For those who fall short of what is expected of a Terrapin student-athlete, we pledge to continue to work with the campus to implement remedial actions appropriate to the offense.

Being a Terrapin student-athlete is a privilege. We are here, in large part, to help guide our student-athletes in making wise choices during their period of growth and exploration, hopefully culminating in graduation from one of our country’s best public institutions of higher education.

Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of the contents of this letter and for your support of our coaches and student-athletes.


Go Terps!

Deborah Yow
Director of Athletics

Sorry for the long post here, but I find it interesting that an article that hasn't even been published yet is getting this kind of rise out of the Athletic Department. Either the article they're seeking to refute is a true hatchet job or they're attempting to defend the indefensible. By looking at some of the weasel wording and the admitted preemptive strike, they're clearly on the defensive here and that really makes you wonder.

If what the Sun was trying to do is on the level and balanced, a preemptive strike like this wouldn't be needed. Heather Dinich doesn't have anything up on her blog yet.

I (and the UMD Athletic Department) could sink into the fever swamps and start listing the transgressions of other schools but when UMD lacks a clean record themselves, that isn't a valid defense and I am glad to see that they did not do that.

Student-athletes are not angels, they are going to make mistakes and think that they can get away with more than other students because of their status but the reverse is actually true. If the Sun could somehow prove though that there are bigger problems with the student-athletes at UMD than in other comparable institutions, then they might have a point. But they've clearly got the Athletic Department on the defensive so we'll have to see what comes out when it comes out.

Anything Is Possible

But this just ain't happening.

First and foremost, the question has already been asked and answered and the kid knows it.

He isn't welcome.

Of course, just last week the kid was staying at State Penn for the academics and not worrying about football anymore. Now he's asking for a release and looking to transfer and play elsewhere.

Because P.T. Barnum was right, something tells me he'll find somewhere to play football.

Survive and Adavance 2007 Round II

You live by the three, you die by the three and (The) Butler (did it) hit enough three pointers so get past Maryland 62-59.

The lack of a true inside presence along with atrocious free throw shooting, going 7 for 15, did Maryland in. The bench also failed to provide any spark for the Terps who did not have a very good game today.

In addition to See-BS keeping the local TV markets on the Ohio State-Xavier game long past the start of the Maryland game, there were certainly some questionable calls as I don't think Butler's guards were called for their push offs or "hooks" as the drove to the basket all game.

Now the Terps season is over and if at the start of the year you told Terp fans that they would finish in a tie for third in the ACC and get within 3 three points of the Sweet Sixteen, I certainly would have taken it. This was a Maryland team with a lot of good role players but no stars and zero real inside players so hat's off the job that Gary Williams did this year. The Terps graduate six players off the roster so they'll be a very young team next year but their returning guards have NCAA tournament experience which will help them a lot next year.

Survive and Advance 2007 Round I

Criminey...

In a game that was a lot closer than it should have been, Maryland kills the popular upset pick by downing Davidson 82-70. Davidson coincidentally is now 0 -6 in the NCAA Tournament since former Maryland Head Coach Lefty Driesell won an NCAA game there in 1969. Lefty departed after that season to take over the job at Maryland.

The first half looked like playground basketball and Maryland tried to self destruct in the second half by refusing to run their offense for the first few minutes and then profusely throwing the ball away for a few minutes.

However, if you live by the three, you die by the three and Davidson couldn't hit three pointers as the game wore on finishing 10-37. Some of it was fatigue but Maryland also tightened up on the defensive end, especially in transition.

Finally, I don't know what was more painful. Was it the officiating that called everything on Maryland and only about half on Davidson (almost making All Carolina Conference Refs look competent) or the play-by-play and color commentary of Kevin Harlan and Dan Wetzel?

I think I'll go with the See-BS announcers because I'll have to endure them again on Saturday when Maryland plays the winner of (The) Butler (did it)- Old Dominion in Loserville...er... Buffalo.

Terps Starting Early

And word just came out that the Fourth Seeded Maryland Men will play at 12:20 pm Eastern Time on Thursday.

The opponent is Davidson, a team the Terps beat 78-63 in the 2005 Not Important Tournament Second round. The location is Loserville...er... Buffalo.

What Is It With The All Carolina Conference Tournament?

As I was leaving for work this morning, I thought about setting my DVD Recorder to record the Maryland-Miami First Round ACC Tournament Game and listening to the internet radio broadcast, I'm glad I didn't. As Maryland comes up short against Miami, 67-62.

It is one thing to play a team "that has your number" but it is another thing to not even show up. All too often I heard "Maryland is getting out hustled," missing too many free throws including the front end of 1-and-1's, and constantly turning the ball over.

For whatever reason, when Maryland goes to play in the All Carolina Conference Tournament this happens. It is no wonder we've only won two of these things. We almost seem to expect bad things to happen to us there.

Memo For The Nerd Herd

AKA, The Cameron Coo-coos.

"Spear Turtle" isn't original. I first saw it from F$U three years ago at Byrd Stadium when Maryland beat F$U. And it actually made sense coming from F$U because they have a picture of a spear on their helmets. But it makes no sense coming from you guys.

But keep practicing those cheers and doing the great opposition research that you're capable of. While you're not our rival (just our "female dog") we do like how you make our home away from home a fun place to get wins.

2007 Maryland Football Schedule Released

Here's something else to chew on instead of mind-numbing debates about how to manage superstar players...

Here's a link from the ACC.

2007 Maryland Terrapins Schedule:

September 1st Villanova

September 8th @ Florida International

September 13th West-By-God-Virginia (Thursday night ESPN Game on a "short week")

September 22nd @ Wake Forest

September 29th @ Rutgers

October 6th Georgia Tech

October 20th Virginia

October 27th Clemson

November 3rd @ North Carolina

November 10th Boston College

November 17th @ Florida State

November 24 @ N.C. State

I have to say, even with having to play West-By-God-Virginia on five days rest Maryland has what looks to be a favorable schedule. West-By-God-Virginia has a game @ Marshall scheduled for September 8th. With that being an in-state rivalry game on the road, the Mountaineers will be in no better shape than Maryland and they have to travel to College Park for the game.

I'm not predicting a 12-0 season, but the Terps can't complain too much about this schedule.